Editing Tiwanaku

{{short description|Archaeological site in Bolivia}}
{{for|the contemporary municipality|Tiwanaku, La Paz}}
{{Infobox ancient site
 |name = Tiwanaku
 |alternate_name = Tiahuanaco, Tiahuanacu
 |image = PUERTA DEL SOL TIWANAKU.jpg
 |alt = 
 |caption = The "[[Gate of the Sun]]"
 |map_type = Bolivia
 |map_size = 
 |relief = yes
 |map_alt = Map showing location in Bolivia
 |coordinates = {{coord|16|33|17|S|68|40|24|W|display=inline,title}}
 |location = [[Tiwanaku Municipality]], [[Bolivia]]
 |region = 
 |type = Settlement
 |part_of = 
 |length = 
 |width = 
 |area = 
 |height = 
 |builder = 
 |material = 
 |built = {{Circa|110 AD}}?<ref name = "Marsh2012a">{{cite journal | last1 = Marsh | first1 = Erik | year = 2012 | title = A Bayesian Re-Assessment of the Earliest Radiocarbon Dates from Tiwanaku, Bolivia | journal = Radiocarbon | volume = 54 | issue = 2 | pages = 203–218 | doi = 10.2458/azu_js_rc.v54i2.15826| bibcode = 2012Radcb..54..203M | doi-access = free }}</ref>
 |abandoned = 
 |epochs = 
 |cultures = [[Tiwanaku empire]]
 |dependency_of = 
 |occupants = 
 |event = 
 |excavations = 
 |archaeologists = 
 |condition = In ruins
 |ownership = 
 |management = 
 |public_access = 
 |website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
 |notes = 
| designation1          = WHS
| designation1_offname  = Tiwanaku: Spiritual and Political Centre of the Tiwanaku Culture
| designation1_date     = 2000 <small>(24th [[World Heritage Committee|session]])</small>
| designation1_number   = [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/567 567]
| designation1_criteria = iii, iv
| designation1_type     = Cultural
| designation1_free1name = Region
| designation1_free1value = [[List of World Heritage Sites in the Americas|South America]]}}
'''Tiwanaku''' ({{langx|es|'''Tiahuanaco'''}} or {{lang|es|'''Tiahuanacu'''}}) is a [[Pre-Columbian]] [[archaeological site]] in western [[Bolivia]], near [[Lake Titicaca]], about 70 kilometers from [[La Paz]], and it is one of the largest sites in South America. Surface remains currently cover around 4 square kilometers and include decorated ceramics, monumental structures, and megalithic blocks. It has been conservatively estimated that the site was inhabited by 10,000 to 20,000 people in [[Anno Domini|AD]] 800.<ref name="Janusek2004b">{{cite book |last=Janusek |first=John |url=https://archive.org/details/identitypowerina0000janu |title=Identity and Power in the Ancient Andes: Tiwanaku Cities through Time |date=2004 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0415946346 |place=New York |pages=128}}</ref>

The site was first recorded in [[recorded history|written history]] in 1549 by Spanish conquistador [[Pedro Cieza de León]] while searching for the southern Inca capital of [[Qullasuyu]].<ref name="Kolata">{{cite book | title =The Tiwanaku: Portrait of an Andean Civilization|last=Kolata| first= Alan L.|author-link= Alan Kolata|date =1993|isbn=978-1-55786-183-2|publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell]]}}</ref>

Jesuit chronicler of Peru Bernabé Cobo reported that Tiwanaku's name once was ''taypiqala'', which is [[Aymara language|Aymara]] meaning "stone in the center", alluding to the belief that it lay at the center of the world.<ref name="Ancient Skies">{{cite book |title=Exploring Ancient Skies: An Encyclopedic Survey of Archaeoastronomy | first1=David H.| last1=Kelley| first2=Eugene F.| last2=Milone |date=November 19, 2004 |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]] |isbn=978-0-387-95310-6}}</ref> The name by which Tiwanaku was known to its inhabitants may have been lost as they had no written language.<ref name="Frommers">{{cite book |last=Hughes |first=Holly |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780470189863/page/266 |title=Frommers 500 Places to See Before They Disappear (500 Places) |publisher=[[Frommers]] |date=October 20, 2008 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780470189863/page/266 266] |isbn=978-0-470-18986-3 |access-date=9 August 2009 }}</ref><ref name="Genographic">{{cite web |url=https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/pi/santos_notes.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110705161600/https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/pi/santos_notes.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 5, 2011 |title=Profile: Fabricio R. Santos - The Genographic project| publisher=[[National Geographic Society|National Geographic]] |work=[[Genographic Project]] |access-date=2009-08-09}}</ref> Heggarty and Beresford-Jones suggest that the [[Puquina language]] is most likely to have been the language of Tiwanaku.<ref name=HegBer2013>{{Cite book
| last1  = Heggarty
| first1 = P.
| last2  = Beresford-Jones
| first2 = D.
|editor-first1=I. 
|editor-last1=Ness
|chapter= Andes: linguistic history
| title   = The Encyclopedia of Global Human Migration
| pages   = 401–409
| year    = 2013
|publisher= Wiley-Blackwell
| location= Oxford
|isbn=978-1-44435-107-1
|doi=10.1002/9781444351071.wbeghm852 
}}</ref>

== Site history ==
The dating of the site has been significantly refined over the last century. From 1910 to 1945, [[Arthur Posnansky]] maintained that the site was 11,000–17,000 years old<ref name = "Posnansky 1910">{{cite book | last1 = Posnansky | first1 = Arthur | year = 1910 | title = Tihuanacu e islas del Sol y de la Luna (Titicaca y Koati). | place = La Paz}}</ref><ref name = "Posnansky 1945">{{cite book | last = Posnansky | first = Arthur | year = 1945 | title = Tihuanacu, the Cradle of American Man | volume = I–II | others = Translated by James F. Sheaver | publisher = JJ Augustin | place = New York}}</ref> based on comparisons to geological eras and [[archaeoastronomy]]. Beginning in the 1970s, Carlos Ponce Sanginés proposed the site was first occupied around 1580 BC,<ref name = "Ponce Sanginés 1971">{{cite book | last = Ponce Sanginés | first = Carlos | year = 1971 | title = Tiwanaku: Espacio, Tiempo y Cultura | place = La Paz | publisher = Academia Nacional de Ciencias de Bolivia}}</ref> the site's oldest radiocarbon date. This date is still seen in some publications and museums in Bolivia. Since the 1980s, researchers have recognized this date as unreliable, leading to the consensus that the site is no older than 200 or 300 BC.<ref name = "Browman 1980">{{cite journal|last= Browman|first=David|year=1980|title = Tiwanaku expansion and economic patterns | journal = Estudios Arqueológicos|volume=5|pages=107–120}}</ref><ref name = "Janusek 2003">{{cite book | last=Janusek|first=John|year=2003|title = Tiwanaku and Its Hinterland: Archaeological and Paleoecological Investigations of an Andean Civilization, Vol. 2: Urban and Rural Archaeology | chapter = Vessels, Time, and Society: Toward a Ceramic Chronology in the Tiwanaku Heartland | editor-last = Kolata | editor-first = Alan | place = Washington, D.C. | publisher = Smithsonian | pages = 30–89}}</ref><ref name = "Stanish 2003">{{cite book | last = Stanish | first = Charles | year = 2003 | title = Ancient Titicaca | place = Los Angeles | publisher = University of California Press}}</ref> More recently, a statistical assessment of reliable radiocarbon dates estimates that the site was founded around AD 110 (50–170, 68% probability),<ref name = "Marsh2012a">{{cite journal | last1 = Marsh | first1 = Erik | year = 2012 | title = A Bayesian Re-Assessment of the Earliest Radiocarbon Dates from Tiwanaku, Bolivia | journal = Radiocarbon | volume = 54 | issue = 2 | pages = 203–218 | doi = 10.2458/azu_js_rc.v54i2.15826| bibcode = 2012Radcb..54..203M | doi-access = free }}</ref> a date supported by the lack of ceramic styles from earlier periods.<ref name = "Marsh2012b">{{cite journal | last1 = Marsh | first1 = Erik | year = 2012 | title = The Founding of Tiwanaku: Evidence from Kk'araña | journal = Ñawpa Pacha | volume = 32 | pages = 169–188 | doi = 10.1179/naw.2012.32.2.69| s2cid = 194040072 }}</ref>

Tiwanaku began its steady growth in the early centuries of the first millennium AD. From approximately 375 to 700 AD, this Andean city grew to significance. At its height, the city of Tiwanaku spanned an area of roughly 4 square kilometers (1.5 square miles) and had a population greater than 10,000 individuals. The growth of the city was due to its complex agropastoral economy, supported by trade.<ref name="FirstCities(Book)">{{cite book |last1=Andrews |first1=Anthony P. |title=First Cities |date=1995 |publisher=St. Remy Press |location=Canada |isbn=0-89599-043-1 |pages=158–160 |access-date=26 July 2022 |url=https://www.biblio.com/book/first-cities-exploring-ancient-world-andrews/d/1140635614}}</ref>

The site appeared to have collapsed around 1000 AD, however the reasoning behind this is still open to debate. Recent studies by geologist Elliott Arnold of the [[University of Pittsburgh]] have shown evidence of a greater amount of aridity in the region around the time of collapse. A drought in the region would have affected local systems of agriculture and likely played a role in the collapse of Tiwanaku.

== Relationships ==
The people of Tiwanaku held a tight relationship with the [[Wari culture]]. The Wari and Tiwanaku civilizations shared the same iconography, referred to as the "Southern Andean Iconographic Series". The relationship between the two civilizations is presumed to be trade based or military based. The Wari aren't the only other civilization that Tiwanaku could have had contact with. Inca cities also contained similar types of architecture Infrastructure seen in Tiwanaku. From this it can be expected that the Inca took some inspiration from the city of Tiwanaku and other early civilizations in the Andean basin.

== Structures ==
[[File:Posnansky Fig 11.png|thumb|280x280px|Carving in the [[Gate of the Sun]] of Tiwanaku, (Photography of 1903).]]
The structures that have been excavated by researchers at Tiwanaku include the terraced [[platform mound]] [[Akapana]], Akapana East, and [[Pumapunku]] stepped platforms, the [[Kalasasaya]], the Kantatallita, the Kheri Kala, and Putuni enclosures, and the Semi-Subterranean Temple.

Some authors believe that the elites of Tiwanaku lived inside four walls that were surrounded by a moat. This theory is called "Tiwanaku moat theory". This moat, some believe, was to create the image of a sacred island. Inside the walls were many images devoted to human origin, which only the elites would see. Commoners may have entered this structure only for ceremonial purposes since it was home to the holiest of shrines.<ref name="Kolata"/>

Many theories for the skill of Tiwanaku's architectural construction have been proposed. One is that they used a ''luk’ a,'' which is a standard measurement of about sixty centimeters. Protzen and Nair state that "Through all our measurements, we could not only not corroborate this hypothesis, but we were unable-until now-to detect a convincing unit of measurement, or module, from which to derive other measurements either as multiples or fractions of this module." Another argument is for the Pythagorean Ratio. This idea calls for right triangles at a ratio of five to four to three used in the gateways to measure all parts. Lastly, Protzen and Nair argue that Tiwanaku had a system set for individual elements dependent on context and composition. This is shown in the construction of similar gateways ranging from diminutive to monumental size, proving that scaling factors did not affect proportion. With each added element, the individual pieces were shifted to fit together.<ref name="ProtzenOther2000">Protzen, J.-P., and S. E. Nair, 2000, "On Reconstructing Tiwanaku Architecture": ''The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians,'' vol. 59, no., 3, pp. 358–371.</ref>

As the population grew, occupational niches developed, and people began to specialize in certain skills. There was an increase in artisans, who worked in pottery, jewelry, and textiles. Like the later Inca, the Tiwanaku had few commercial or market institutions. Instead, the culture relied on elite redistribution.<ref>, Smith, Michael E. (2004), "The Archaeology of Ancient Economies," ''Annu. Rev. Anthrop.'' 33: 73-102.</ref> That is, the elites of the state controlled essentially all economic output but were expected to provide each commoner with all the resources needed to perform his or her function. Selected occupations include agriculturists, herders, pastoralists, etc. Such separation of occupations was accompanied by hierarchical stratification within the state.<ref>Bahn, Paul G. ''Lost Cities''. New York: Welcome Rain, 1999.</ref>

[[File:Monolito Fraile (Tiwanaku, Bolivia) (36936733575).jpg|thumb|Fraile Monolith, holding a [[snuff tray]] and a [[Qiru]]; the belt shows sprouting plants that are often mistaken for crabs]]

===Akapana===
{{Main|Akapana}}
The Akapana is a "half [[Chakana|Andean Cross]]"-shaped structure that is 257 m wide, 197 m broad at its maximum, and 16.5 m tall. At its center appears to have been a sunken court. This was nearly destroyed by a deep [[Looting|looters]] excavation that extends from the center of this structure to its eastern side. Material from the looter's excavation was dumped off the eastern side of the Akapana. A staircase is present on its western side. Possible residential complexes might have occupied both the northeast and southeast corners of this structure.

===Akapana East===
The Akapana East was built on the eastern side of early Tiwanaku. Later it was considered a boundary between the ceremonial center and the urban area. It was made of a thick, prepared floor of sand and clay, which supported a group of buildings. Yellow and red clay was used in different areas for what seems like aesthetic purposes. It was swept clean of all domestic refuse, signaling its great importance to the culture.<ref name="Isbell2004a">Isbell, W. H., 2004, ''Palaces and Politics in the Andean Middle Horizon.'' in S. T. Evans and J. Pillsbury, eds., pp. 191–246. [http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/EVAPAL.html?show=contents ''Palaces of the Ancient New World''], Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection Washington, D.C.</ref>

===Pumapunku===
{{Main|Pumapunku}}
The [[Pumapunku]] is a man-made platform built on an east-west axis like the Akapana. It is a T-shaped, terraced earthen platform mound faced with megalithic blocks. It is 167.36 m wide along its north-south axis and 116.7 m broad along its east-west axis and is 5 m tall. Identical 20-meter-wide projections extend 27.6 meters north and south from the northeast and southeast corners of the Pumapunku. Walled and unwalled courts and an esplanade are associated with this structure.

A prominent feature of the Pumapunku is a large stone terrace; it is 6.75 by 38.72 meters in dimension and paved with large stone blocks. It is called the "''Plataforma Lítica''" and contains the largest stone block found in the Tiwanaku site.<ref name="Sangines1970">Ponce Sanginés, C. and G. M. Terrazas, 1970, ''Acerca De La Procedencia Del Material Lítico De Los Monumentos De Tiwanaku.'' Publication no. 21. ''Academia Nacional de Ciencias de Bolivia''.</ref><ref name="Vranich1999">Vranich, A., 1999, [http://repository.upenn.edu/dissertations/AAI9926211/ ''Interpreting the Meaning of Ritual Spaces: The Temple Complex of Pumapunku, Tiwanaku, Bolivia''], Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pennsylvania.</ref> According to Ponce Sangines, the block is estimated to weigh 131 metric tonnes.<ref name="Sangines1970"/> The second-largest stone block found within the Pumapunku is estimated to be 85 metric tonnes.<ref name="Sangines1970"/><ref name="Vranich1999"/>

Scattered around the site of the Puma Punku are various types of cut stones. Due to the complexity of the stonework the site is often cited by conspiracy theorists to be a site of ancient alien intervention. These claims are entirely unsubstantiated. The most informed reconstruction of the building is based on the 3D printing and modeling by Alexei Vranich.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vranich |first=Alexei |date=2018-12-13 |title=Reconstructing ancient architecture at Tiwanaku, Bolivia: the potential and promise of 3D printing |journal=Heritage Science |language=en |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=1–20 |doi=10.1186/s40494-018-0231-0 |doi-access=free |issn=2050-7445}}</ref>
[[File:TiahuanacoGateEGSquier1877.jpg|thumb|right|"[[Gateway of the Sun]]", Tiwanaku, drawn by [[Ephraim Squier]] in 1877. The vertical scale is exaggerated in this drawing.]]

===Kalasasaya===
{{Main|Kalasasaya}}
The [[Kalasasaya]] is a large courtyard more than 300 feet long, outlined by a high gateway. It is located to the north of the Akapana and west of the Semi-Subterranean Temple. Within the courtyard is where explorers found the Gateway of the Sun. Since the late 20th century, researchers have theorized that this was not the gateway's original location.

Near the courtyard is the Semi-Subterranean Temple; a square sunken courtyard that is unique for its north-south rather than east-west axis.<ref name="Goldstein, Paul 1993">{{cite book |title=Tiwanaku Temples and State Expansion: A Tiwanaku Sunken-Court Temple in Moquegua, Peru |author=Goldstein, Paul |year=1993}}</ref> The walls are covered with tenon heads of many different styles, suggesting that the structure was reused for different purposes over time.<ref name="Brownman1981a"/> It was built with walls of sandstone pillars and smaller blocks of Ashlar masonry.<ref name="Brownman1981a">Browman, D. L., 1981, "New light on Andean Tiwanaku," ''New Scientist'' vol. 69, no. 4, pp. 408–419.</ref><ref>Coe, Michael, Dean Snow, and Elizabeth Benson, 1986, ''Atlas of Ancient America'' p. 190</ref> The largest stone block in the Kalasasaya is estimated to weigh 26.95 metric tons.<ref name="Sangines1970"/>

Within many of the site's structures are impressive gateways; the ones of monumental scale are placed on artificial mounds, platforms, or sunken courts. One gateway shows the iconography of a front-facing figure in [[Staff God]] pose. This iconography also is used on some oversized vessels, indicating an importance to the culture. The iconography of the Gateway of the Sun called ''Southern Andean Iconographic Series'' can be seen on several stone sculptures, [[Qiru]]s, [[snuff tray]]s and other Tiwanaku artifacts.<ref>Silverman, Helaine ''Andean Archaeology'' Volume 2. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004</ref>

The unique carvings on the top of the Gate of the sun depict animals and other beings. Some have claimed that the symbolism represents a calendar system unique to the people of Tiwanaku, although there is no definitive evidence that this theory is correct. 

The Gateway of the Sun and others located at Pumapunku are not complete. They are missing part of a typical recessed frame known as a [[chambranle]], which typically have sockets for clamps to support later additions. These architectural examples, as well as the Akapana Gate, have unique detail and demonstrate high skill in stone-cutting. This reveals a knowledge of [[descriptive geometry]]. The regularity of elements suggests they are part of a system of proportions.

[[File:Tiwanaku - Puerta de la Luna - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Gate of the Moon.]]

== Cosmology ==

In many Andean cultures, mountains are venerated<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Reinhard |first1=Johan |title=Sacred Mountains: An Ethno-Archaeological Study of High Andean Ruins |journal=Mountain Research and Development |date=1985 |volume=5 |issue=4 |pages=299–317 |doi=10.2307/3673292 |jstor=3673292 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3673292 |issn=0276-4741}}</ref> and may be considered sacred objects. The site of Tiwanaku is located in the valley between two sacred mountains, [[Pukara_(Guaqui)|Pukara]] and [[Chuqi Q'awa|Chuqi Q’awa]]. At such temples in ancient times, ceremonies were conducted to honor and pay gratitude to the gods and spirits.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bonilla |first1=Heraclio |title=Religious Practices in the Andes and their Relevance to Political Struggle and Development |journal=Mountain Research and Development |pages=336–342 |doi=10.1659/0276-4741(2006)26[336:RPITAA]2.0.CO;2 |date=1 November 2006|volume=26 |issue=4 |s2cid=128460565 |issn=0276-4741 |doi-access=free }}</ref> They were places of worship and rituals that helped unify Andean peoples through shared symbols and [[pilgrimage]] destinations.

Tiwanaku became a center of pre-Columbian religious ceremonies for both the general public and elites. For example, [[human sacrifice]] was used in several pre-Columbian civilizations to appease a god in exchange for good fortune. Excavations of the Akapana at Tiwanaku revealed the remains of sacrificial dedications of humans and camelids.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Blom |first1=Deborah E. |last2=Janusek |first2=John Wayne |title=Making Place: Humans as Dedications in Tiwanaku |journal=World Archaeology |date=2004 |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=123–141 |doi=10.1080/0043824042000192623 |jstor=4128306 |s2cid=154741300 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/4128306 |issn=0043-8243}}</ref> Researchers speculate that the Akapana may also have been used as an astronomical observatory. It was constructed so that it was aligned with the peak of [[Quimsachata (Canchis)|Quimsachata]], providing a view of the rotation of the Milky Way from the southern pole.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Vranich |first1=Alexei |title=Monumental Perceptions of the Tiwanaku Landscape |journal=Political Landscapes of Capital Cities |date=2016 |pages=181–212 |publisher=University Press of Colorado|doi=10.5876/9781607324690.c005 |jstor=j.ctt1dfnt2b.11 |isbn=9781607324683 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Other structures like [[Kalasasaya]] are positioned to provide optimal views of the sunrise on the Equinox, Summer Solstice, and Winter Solstice. Although the symbolic and functional value of these monuments can only be speculated upon, the Tiwanaku were able to study and interpret the positions of the sun, moon, Milky Way and other celestial bodies well enough to give them a significant role in their architecture.<ref name="Mysteries and discoveries of archae">{{cite book |last1=Magli |first1=Giulio |title=Mysteries and discoveries of archaeoastronomy : from Giza to Easter Island |date=2009 |publisher=Copernicus Books/Springer Science + Business Media, in association with Praxis Pub |location=New York |isbn=978-0-387-76566-2}}</ref>

[[Aymara people|Aymara]] legends place Tiwanaku at the center of the universe, probably because of the importance of its geographical location. The Tiwanaku were highly aware of their natural surroundings and would use them and their understanding of astronomy as reference points in their architectural plans. The most significant landmarks in Tiwanaku are the mountains and Lake Titicaca.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lake Titicaca |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Lake_Titicaca/ |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref> The lake level of Lake Titicaca has fluctuated significantly over time. The spiritual importance and location of the lake contributed to the religious significance of Tiwanaku. In the Tiwanaku worldview, Lake Titicaca is the spiritual birthplace of their cosmic beliefs.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tiwanaku and Lake Titikaka – Bolivia |url=https://sacredland.org/tiwanaku-lake-titikaka-bolivia/ |website=Sacred Land}}</ref> According to Incan mythology, Lake Titicaca is the birthplace of [[Viracocha]], who was responsible for creating the sun, moon, people, and the cosmos. In the Kalasasaya at Tiwanaku, carved atop a monolith known as the [[Gate of the Sun]], is a front-facing figure holding a [[spear-thrower]]<ref>[[Max Uhle]]: ''Wesen und Ordnung der altperuanischen Kulturen.'' Colloquium Verlag, 1959, p.&nbsp;62: The staff in the figure's right hand clearly indicates the spear-thrower due to the [[hook]] at the top, which - as is often the case with real spear throwers - has the shape of a bird („Der Stab in der rechten Hand der Figur bezeichnet durch den am oberen Ende sitzenden Haken, der — wie so oft bei wirklichen Speerschleudern — die Gestalt eines Vogels hat, deutlich die Speerschleuder.“)</ref> and snuff. Some speculate that this is a representation of Viracocha. However, it is also possible that this figure represents a deity that the Aymara refer to as "Tunuupa" who, like Viracocha, is associated with legends of creation and destruction.

The [[Aymara people|Aymara]], who are thought to be descendants of the Tiwanaku, have a complex belief system similar to the cosmology of several other Andean civilizations. They believe in the existence of three spaces: Arajpacha, the upper world; Akapacha, the middle or inner world; and Manqhaoacha, the lower world.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cosmovision of the Aymara people in Chile for trekkers |url=https://www.trekkingchile.com/en/chile-info/aymara/cosmovision/ |website=Trekkingchile EN}}</ref> Often associated with the cosmos and Milky Way, the upper world is considered to be where celestial beings live. The middle world is where all living things are, and the lower world is where life itself is inverted.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Quilter |first1=Jeffrey |title=The ancient central Andes |date=2014 |location=Abingdon, Oxon |isbn=9780415673105 |url=https://www.routledge.com/The-Ancient-Central-Andes/Quilter/p/book/9780415673105 |language=en |access-date=2021-05-04 |archive-date=2021-05-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503234637/https://www.routledge.com/The-Ancient-Central-Andes/Quilter/p/book/9780415673105 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Archaeology ==
[[File:BO Tihuanako (149) (17042408319).jpg|thumb|left|270px|The Bennett Monolith was found in the centre of the Semi-Subterranean Temple by American archeologist Wendell Clark Bennett. It is the largest [[Stele]] ever found in the Andean world (7,3 m tall); his body is covered with mythical figures.]]
[[File:Tiwanaku 06.jpg|thumb|Heads in the Semi-Subterranean Temple.]]
As the site has suffered from looting and amateur excavations since shortly after Tiwanaku's fall, archeologists must attempt to interpret it with the understanding that materials have been jumbled and destroyed. This destruction continued during the Spanish conquest and colonial period, and during 19th century and the early 20th century. Other damage was committed by people quarrying stone for building and railroad construction, and target practice by military personnel.

No standing buildings have survived at the modern site. Only public, non-domestic foundations remain, with poorly reconstructed walls. The ashlar blocks used in many of these structures were mass-produced in similar styles so that they could possibly be used for multiple purposes. Throughout the period of the site, certain buildings changed purposes, causing a mix of artifacts found today.<ref name="ProtzenOther2000" />

Detailed study of Tiwanaku began on a small scale in the mid-nineteenth century. In the 1860s, [[Ephraim George Squier]] visited the ruins and later published maps and sketches completed during his visit. German geologist [[Alphons Stübel]] spent nine days in Tiwanaku in 1876, creating a map of the site based on careful measurements. He also made sketches and created paper impressions of carvings and other architectural features. A book containing major photographic documentation was published in 1892 by engineer Georg von Grumbkow, With commentary by archaeologist [[Max Uhle]], this was the first in-depth scientific account of the ruins.

Von Grumbkow had first visited Tiwanaku between the end of 1876 and the beginning of 1877, when he accompanied as a photographer the expedition of French adventurer [[Théodore Ber]], financed by American businessman [[Henry Meiggs]], against Ber’s promise of donating the artifacts he will find, on behalf of Meiggs, to Washington's [[Smithsonian Institution]] and the [[American Museum of Natural History]] in [[New York City|New York]]. Ber’s expedition was cut short by the violent hostility of the local population, instigated by the Catholic parish priest, but von Grumbkow’s early pictures survive.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Riviale|first=Pascal|title=Un Communard parmi les américanistes : biographie de Théodore Ber|encyclopedia=Bérose-Encyclopédie internationale des histoires de l'anthropologie|url=http://www.berose.fr/article1413.html?lang=fr|access-date=18 January 2020|year=2018|publisher=Bérose}}</ref>

;Pictures of archaeological excavations in 1903
<gallery>
File:Posnansky Fig 15.png|Stairs of Kalasasaya (1903)
File:Posnansky Fig 10.png|Gate of the Sun (1903)
File:Posnansky Fig 13.png|Gate of the Sun, Rear View (1903)
File:Posnansky Fig 5.png|Akapana (1903); first thought to be an [[alluvial]] layer, later shown to be entirely artificial
File:Edificio de la segunda Epoca - Vista de la izquierda 1903-1904.jpg|Semi-Subterranean Temple (1903)
</gallery>

=== Contemporary excavation and restoration ===
[[File:Tiwanaku 09.jpg|thumb|Amateur archaeological reconstructed Walls around the Kalasasaya]]
[[File:Posnansky Fig 9.png|thumb|Remains of the original Kalasasaya walls show high quality of stonework]]
In the 1960s, the Bolivian government initiated an effort to restore the site and reconstruct part of it. The walls of the Kalasasaya are almost all reconstructed. The reconstruction was not sufficiently based on evidence. The reconstruction does not have as high quality of stonework as was present in Tiwanaku.<ref name = "Brownman1981a" /> 
Early visitors compared Kalasasaya to Englands [[Stonehenge]].<ref>Alfons Stübel, Max Uhle: ''Die Ruinenstätte von Tiahuanaco im Hochlande des alten Perú: Eine kulturgeschichtliche Studie auf Grund selbständiger Aufnahmen.'' Hiersemann, Leipzig 1892, Part II, p. 46 ([https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/stuebel_uhle1892/0212/image,info digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de]).</ref> Ephraim Squier called it "American Stonehenge".<ref>Jean-Pierre Protzen, Stella Nair: ''The Stones of Tiahuanaco: A Study of Architecture and Construction.'' Vol. 75. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press, University of California, Los Angeles 2013, p. 46.</ref> Before the reconstruction, it had more of a "Stonehenge"-like appearance as the filler stones between the large stone pillars were all looted.<ref>Alexei Vranich, Charles Stanish (eds.): ''Visions of Tiwanaku''. UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, Los Angeles, 2013, p. 4</ref>
As noted, the Gateway of the Sun, now in the Kalasasaya, is believed to have been moved from its original location.<ref name = "Kolata" />

Modern, academically sound archaeological excavations were performed from 1978 through the 1990s by [[University of Chicago]] [[anthropologist]] Alan Kolata and his Bolivian counterpart, Oswaldo Rivera. Among their contributions are the rediscovery of the [[suka kollus]], accurate dating of the civilization's growth and influence, and evidence for a drought-based collapse of the Tiwanaku civilization.

Archaeologists such as Paul Goldstein have argued that the [[Tiwanaku empire]] ranged outside of the altiplano area and into the [[Moquegua]] Valley in Peru. Excavations at Omo settlements show signs of similar architecture characteristic of Tiwanaku, such as a temple and terraced mound.<ref name="Goldstein, Paul 1993"/> Evidence of similar types of cranial vault modification in burials between the Omo site and the main site of Tiwanaku is also being used for this argument.<ref>{{cite book |title=Artificial Cranial Deformation at the Omo M10 Site: A Tiwanaku Complex from the Moquegua Valley, Peru | last =Hoshower | first = Lisa M. |year= 1995}}</ref>

[[Image:Tiwanaku robot 20060613 0470.jpg|thumb|left|Robotic exploration of a newly discovered tunnel inside Akapana, June 13, 2006]]

Today Tiwanaku has been designated as a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]], administered by the Bolivian government.

Recently, the Department of Archaeology of Bolivia (DINAR, directed by Javier Escalante) has been conducting excavations on the terraced platform mound Akapana. The Proyecto Arqueologico Pumapunku-Akapana (Pumapunku-Akapana Archaeological Project, PAPA) run by the [[University of Pennsylvania]], has been excavating in the area surrounding the terraced platform mound for the past few years, and also conducting [[Ground Penetrating Radar]] surveys of the area.

In former years, an archaeological field school offered through [[Harvard]]'s Summer School Program, conducted in the residential area outside the monumental core, has provoked controversy amongst local archaeologists.<ref>{{Citation | last = Lémuz | first = C | year = 2007 | contribution-url = http://arqueobolivia.blogspot.com/2007/02/buenos-negocios-buena-arqueologia.html | contribution = Buenos Negocios, ¿Buena Arqueologia? | language = es | url = http://arqueobolivia.blogspot.com/ | title = Crítica Arqueológica Boliviana |trans-title=Bolivian archæological critic | type = [[World Wide Web]] log}}.</ref> The program was directed by [[Gary Urton]],<ref>{{Citation | year = 2005 | contribution-url = http://www.summer.harvard.edu/2005/programs/bolivia/ | contribution = Program in Tiwanaku, Bolivia | url = http://www.summer.harvard.edu/2005/ | title = Summer School Archives | publisher = Harvard University | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120805220852/http://www.summer.harvard.edu/2005/ | archive-date = 2012-08-05 }}.</ref> of Harvard, who was an expert on [[quipu]]s, and [[Alexei Vranich]] of the [[University of Pennsylvania]]. The controversy was over allowing a team of untrained students to work on the site, even under professional supervision. It was so important that only certified professional archaeologists with documented funding were allowed access. The controversy was charged with nationalistic and political undertones.<ref>{{Citation | last1 = Kojan | first1 = David | first2 = Dante | last2 = Angelo | title = Dominant narratives, social violence and the practice of Bolivian archaeology | journal = Journal of Social Archaeology | volume = 5 | number = 3 | pages = 383–408 | doi=10.1177/1469605305057585| year = 2005 | s2cid = 144411168 }}.</ref> The Harvard field school lasted for three years, beginning in 2004 and ending in 2007. The project was not renewed in subsequent years, nor was permission sought to do so.

In 2009 state-sponsored restoration work on [[Akapana]] was halted due to a complaint from [[UNESCO]]. The restoration had consisted of facing the platform mound with [[adobe]], although researchers had not established this as appropriate.<ref>{{cite news|last=Carroll|first=Rory|title=Makeover may lose Bolivian pyramid its world heritage site listing|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/oct/20/tiwanaku-pyramid-renovations|newspaper = The Guardian|date=20 October 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Pyramid may lose World Heritage status after renovation fiasco|url= http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/pyramid-may-lose-world-heritage-status-after-renovation-fiasco-20091020-h5v0.html |newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald|date=October 20, 2009}}</ref>
[[File:Tiwanaku Statue Der Moench.jpg|thumb|Detail of the Ponce Monolith.]]
In 2013, [[Maritime archaeology|marine archaeologists]] exploring Lake Titicaca's Khoa reef discovered an ancient ceremonial site and lifted artifacts such as a [[lapis lazuli]] and [[ceramic]] figurines, [[incense]] burners and a ceremonial medallion from the lake floor.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Sample |first=Ian |date=2019-04-01 |title=Archaeologists discover 'exceptional' site at Lake Titicaca |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/apr/01/archaeologists-discover-exceptional-site-at-lake-titicaca |access-date=2019-04-02 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The artifacts are representative of the lavishness of the ceremonies and the Tiwanaku culture.<ref name=":0" />

When a topographical map of the site was created in 2016 by the use of a drone, a "set of hitherto unknown structures" was revealed. These structures spanned over 411 hectares, and included a stone temple and about one hundred circular or rectangular structures of vast dimensions, which were possibly domestic units.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://en.unesco.org/courier/2018-3/secrets-tiwanaku-revealed-drone|title=The secrets of Tiwanaku, revealed by a drone}}</ref>

== Aerial surveillance ==

Between 2005 and 2007 various types of aerial surveillance methods were used by [[UNESCO]] to create an aerial picture of the site. Lidar, aerial photography, drones, and terrestrial laser scanning were all used in this process. Data concluded from this research includes topographical maps that show the principal structures at the site along with mapping of multiple structures in the Mollo Kuntu area. Over 300 million data points were placed from these methods and have helped redefine main structures that have not fully been excavated such as the Puma Punku. 

== Important authors==

Alan Kolata of [[the University of Chicago]] conducted research at Tiwanaku in the late 1900s from which he made descriptions of the City and its structure and culture in his book The Tiwanaku. He later published ''Valley of The Spirits'' which described more aspects of Tiwanaku culture such as astrology and mythology.

John Wayne Janusek of [[Vanderbilt University]] spent time in the late 1900s as well at the site of Tiwanaku recording findings of the excavations going on. In 2008 he published ''Ancient Tiwanaku'' which described his findings on the architecture, agriculture and other aspects of Tiwanaku life.

Jean-Pierre Protzen was an architecture professor of the [[University of California at Berkeley]] and spent much of his life studying the architecture of Tiwanaku. In 2013, he published ''The Stones of Tiahuanaco'' which gives great descriptions of the architecture and stonework seen at Tiwanaku. His work has played a huge role in creating potential reconstructions of what many of the structures look like, especially the puma punku.

== See also ==
* [[Arthur Posnansky]]
* [[Kalasasaya]]
* [[Kimsa Chata (Ingavi)|Kimsa Chata]]
* [[Las Ánimas complex]]
* [[List of megalithic sites]]
* [[List of World Heritage Sites in South America]]
* [[Qhunqhu Wankani]]
* [[Tiwanaku Empire]]
* [[Wari culture]]
* [[Wari Empire]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* Bermann, Marc ''Lukurmata'' Princeton University Press (1994) {{ISBN|978-0-691-03359-4}}.
* Bruhns, Karen Olsen, ''Ancient South America'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, c. 1994.
* Arthur Posnansky; ''Tihuanacu cuna del hombre americano (edición bilingüe inglés-castellano)''; Nueva York, 1945.
* Goldstein, Paul, "Tiwanaku Temples and State Expansion: A Tiwanaku Sunken-Court Temple in Moduegua, Peru", ''Latin American Antiquity'', Vol. 4, No. 1 (March 1993), pp.&nbsp;22–47, Society for American Archaeology.
* Hoshower, Lisa M., [[Jane E. Buikstra]], Paul S. Goldstein, and Ann D. Webster, "Artificial Cranial Deformation at the Omo M10 Site: A Tiwanaku Complex from the Moquegua Valley, Peru", ''Latin American Antiquity'', Vol. 6, No. 2 (June, 1995) pp.&nbsp;145–64, Society for American Archaeology.
* Janusek, John Wayne ''Ancient Tiwanaku'' Cambridge University Press (2008) {{ISBN|978-0-521-01662-9}}.
* Kolata, Alan L., "The Agricultural Foundations of the Tiwanaku State: A View from the Heartland", ''American Antiquity'', Vol. 51, No. 4 (October 1986), pp.&nbsp;748–762, Society for American Archaeology.
* {{Citation | last = Kolata | first = Alan L | title = The Technology and Organization of Agricultural Production in the Tiwanaku State | journal = Latin American Antiquity | volume = 2 | number = 2 |date=June 1991 | pages = 99–125 | publisher = Society for American Archaeology | doi=10.2307/972273| jstor = 972273 | s2cid = 3812420 }}.
* Protzen, Jean-Pierre and Stella E. Nair, "On Reconstructing Tiwanaku Architecture", ''The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians'', Vol. 59, No. 3 (September 2000), pp.&nbsp;358–71, Society of Architectural Historians.
* Reinhard, Johan, "Chavin and Tiahuanaco: A New Look at Two Andean Ceremonial Centers." ''National Geographic Research'' 1(3): 395–422, 1985.
* {{Citation | last = Reinhard | first = Johan | author-mask = 3 | contribution = Tiahuanaco, Sacred Center of the Andes | title = An Insider's Guide to Bolivia | editor-first = Peter | editor-last = McFarren | pages = 151–81 | place = La Paz | year = 1990}}.
* {{Citation | last = Reinhard | first = Johan | author-mask = 3 | title = Tiwanaku: Ensayo sobre su cosmovisión | language = es |trans-title=Tiwanaku: essay on its cosmovision | journal = Revista Pumapunku | volume = 2 | pages = 8–66 | year = 1992}}.
* {{Citation | last = Stone-Miller | first = Rebecca | title = Art of the Andes: from Chavin to Inca | publisher = Thames & Hudson | place = London | orig-year = c. 1995 | year = 2002}}.
* {{cite thesis |last= Vallières |first= Claudine |date= 2013 |title= A Taste of Tiwanaku: Daily Life in an Ancient Andean Urban Center as Seen through Cuisine |type= Ph.D. |publisher= McGill University }}

== External links ==
{{Commons+cat|Tiwanaku|Tiwanaku}}
{{Wikivoyage |Tiwanaku}}
{{Library resources box|onlinebooks =yes}}
* {{Citation | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090418121453/http://www.aguabolivia.org/situacionaguaX/Riego/mapas/lapaz/ingavi.htm | archive-date = April 18, 2009 | url-status=dead | url = http://www.aguabolivia.org/situacionaguaX/Riego/mapas/lapaz/ingavi.htm | title = Map of Ingavi Province | publisher = Agua en Bolivia, CGIAB | access-date = September 22, 2013}}
* {{Citation | contribution-url = https://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=567 | contribution = Tiwanaku: Spiritual and Political Centre of the Tiwanaku Culture | title = World Heritage List | publisher = World Heritage Centre, UNESCO | access-date = September 22, 2013}}
* {{Citation | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100522091226/http://www.archaeologystudent.com/tiwanaku/ | url-status=dead | archive-date = May 22, 2010 | url = http://www.archaeologystudent.com/tiwanaku/ | title = Daily Life at Tiwanaku | publisher = Archæology student | access-date = September 22, 2013}}
* {{Citation | year = 2004 | url = http://interactive.archaeology.org/tiwanaku/ | title = Revealing Ancient Bolivia | journal = Archaeology Magazine | publisher = Archaeological Institute of America | access-date = September 22, 2013}}
* {{Citation | contribution-url = http://www.cast.uark.edu/projects/tiwanaku/ | contribution = Geophysics and Geomatics at Tiwanaku | url = http://www.cast.uark.edu/ | title = Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies | publisher = University of Arkansas | place = Fayetteville, [[Arkansas|AR]] | access-date = September 22, 2013}}
* {{Citation | last = Heinrich | first = P | year = 2008 | contribution-url = http://www.hallofmaat.com/modules.php?name=Articles&file=article&sid=166 | contribution = Tiwanaku (Tiahuanaco) Site Bibliography | url = http://www.hallofmaat.com/modules.php?name=Topics | title = Papers | publisher = Hall of Ma’at | access-date = 2013-09-23 | archive-date = 2019-09-06 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190906194718/http://www.hallofmaat.com/modules.php?name=Topics | url-status = dead }}
* {{Citation | last = Higueros | first = A | year = 1999 | contribution-url = http://www.tiwanakuarcheo.net/1_main/tiwanaku.html | contribution = Archaeological Research on the Tiwanaku polity in Peru and Bolivia | url = http://www.tiwanakuarcheo.net/ | title = Arqueologia Andina y Tiwanaku}}
* Short [[BBC]] documentary on Tiwanaku [https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0gx2hvp/tiwanaku-the-civilisation-that-mysteriously-disappeared]

{{World Heritage Sites in Bolivia}}
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[[Category:1st-millennium BC establishments]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Bolivia]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Bolivia]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Bolivia]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in La Paz Department (Bolivia)]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in La Paz Department (Bolivia)]]
[[Category:Prehistory of Bolivia]]
[[Category:Archaeoastronomy]]
[[Category:Tiwanaku culture]]